The recorded screeches made Admiral Vlais grimace as she watched a video of the parasite on her monitor.

“That’s disconcerting.” She says, setting the personal monitor on her desk so she could frown at Sylaron, “And you say there are more coming?”

“I - Yes, well, I think so. It’s a gut feeling.”

Vlais’s frown deepened, “And you want me to divert resources from the interior because of a gut feeling.”

“Yes.”

“To a sector of space that’s been empty for nearly a century.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The Admiral leaned back in her chair with a sigh. She tapped the tips of her teeth together thoughtfully and stroked the spines on the back of her neck.

“This kind of irrational thinking isn’t like you, Sylaron.”

Sylaron dipped his head, respectfully acknowledging, “The parasite is dangerous, ma’am. If there were more, it could be disastrous for us.”

“That’s a big if, Captain. If I were to pull numbers from the interior borders, the Sovereignty would have my head. The Reloculans are more active than we’ve ever seen; I can’t risk fragmenting the fleet.”

She folded her fingers together and watched Sylaron carefully.

“To be honest, Admiral, I think this threat goes beyond an individual effort. If the parasites were to invade, it would impact all of Dromedar.”

Admiral Vlais narrowed her eyes, “What are you saying, captain.”

“That we request help from the others if Reloculan and Kelth’altho-“

“Are you suggesting that the Hokku Sovereignty begs?”

Sylaron shook his head, “No, we wouldn’t be begging. If they just see the specimen we have on board, then-“

“I’ll admit that you found something monstrous, but we live in a galaxy full of monsters. Do you think Kleth'altho would offer aid after what we did to them? The humans’ lifespan isn’t long, but their memories survive generations.”

Sylaron bowed his head, “I understand that, Admiral, but this threat could prove too much for us to handle.”

The Admiral snorted, “Too much for us to handle? Do you forget where you come from, Captain? We are the elite of the galaxy. If it is too much for us, it is too much for anyone.”

“This threat-“ Sylaron tried again.

“Enough,” Vlais raised a hand, “This threat does not exist yet. And until it does, I won't risk fragmenting the fleet.”

Her tone was stern, and she gave Sylaron a hard look, which meant the matter was final. He accepted her words a curt nod and didn’t try to press the matter.

“Now, on to the reason I called you here. The Sovereignty has requested you personally to escort the King to our second moon. It’s quite the honour.”

Sylaron gave her a thin smile. It was an honour, one of the highest, but reserved for the retired veterans. Not a fresh and battle-ready captain. It was another subtle punishment by the Sovereignty, but he had to give them credit. They were getting more creative.

“ When do I leave?”

“As soon as the VoidDancer is ready, you’ll head to the palace and wait for the King there.” She paused momentarily to study him, “don’t think your concerns have fallen on deaf ears. You have a rare head on your shoulders, captain. Be proud.”

“Thank you, Admiral.”

Vlais pursed her lips, “I will keep the parasite in mind. If preparations need to be made, I will make sure they do. You’re not the only one who cares about this planet.”

“Of course, Admiral, thank you.” Sylaron dipped his head.

”You’re excused captain. I’ll inform the King of your departure.”

Sylaron saluted and turned on his heel to leave. He worked his jaw as he thought about the Admiral’s departing words. If preparations need to be made. There was no ‘if’ the parasites were coming. The preparations had to be made now.

He opened the doors to the Landing bay and saw the VoidDancer loyally seated where he had left her. The group of bystanders had grown as the marines carefully led the severed corpse down the VoidDancer’s cargo bay ramp. They fastened a chain around its neck, and it took four of them to drag it down the ramp. It thrashed and screeched in protest, leaving a trail of gore from its bloody stump. Just like their first encounter, the corpse writhed and fought against its restraints like a feral animal. It showed no signs of intelligence, only a voracious appetite for violence. More than once,, the marines had to dodge out of the way, as the corpse suddenly stopped fighting the chains and charged its handlers instead. If it wasn’t for the pulsating sense of dread emanating from the parasite, it would have been a comical sight.

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The marines reached the ramp's edge and started walking towards the dispersed crowd. Sylaron went to move when something caught his eye, and he froze.

The parasite stopped fighting. It was gripping its chains with two of its working limbs. The marines didn’t seem to notice. The lack of resistance only spurred them forward faster.

“Sargent Braxx!” Sylaron called.

The Sergeant was walking beside the group, muttering orders and carefully examining the parasite. At the sound of his name, he looked up.

“Look out!”

Braxx's eyes widened, and he whipped his head down at the corpse. In that moment, the corpse gave a sharp tug on the chains, simultaneously pulling one of the marines closer and launching itself into the air.

The Sergeant couldn’t react in time, and his soldier fell to the ground screaming. The corpse wrapped tightly around its face. The other marines shouted curses and started to pull violently on the chains. Before he knew what he was doing, Sylaron sprinted towards the scene.

“Pull it off! Pull it off!” The marine was screaming.

Sylaron’s own shouts were lost in the cacophony of panicked screams and bellowed curses. The crowd of onlookers watched in terror as the marines all scrambled to rip the corpse off their comrade. Sylaron had only closed half the distance when the corpse suddenly pulled free, like a withered flower from a dried garden bed. It fell to the ground in a limp, lifeless form. Black fluid oozed from it’s severed torso, and the marines all stared at it in shock.

Sylaron knew what was happening before anyone else, but his legs wouldn’t carry him fast enough. His voice was hoarse, and he tried to shout his warnings, but the words wouldn’t come out.

“The - parasite-“ He wheezed, “check- check- where is- the parasite-“

By some miracle Braxx heard him, but just like before it was too late. The marine on the ground rose, his armor was unscathed but his helmet was missing. His white eyes were glassy, and his spines hung limply on his scalp. He stared at his comrades with a slack-jawed expression.

Sylaron was only a few dozen meters away, “Kill him- Kill him!”

The risen marine open-fired, vibrant purple flashes from the barrel of his Skarthkas. Two soldiers dropped instantly while the others dove out of the way. They hesitated to retaliate, but their friend didn't. The mind-controlled marine leapt at the closest soldier in a movement honed by a lifetime of combat training. The curved blade of his Skarthkas arced through the air. There was a flash of sparks as the blade collided with the armour, followed by the dull thump of the marine’s head rolling from its body.

The survivors were screaming and finally got the courage to return fire on their possessed comrade. Though they never took a lethal shot, instead, their plasma rounds obliterated the creature's limbs and created smoking holes in the marine’s armoured torso. Still, he kept coming, and the remaining survivors fell to the feral onslaught one by one. Only Braxx was left standing, his mouth hanging open as he stared dumbfounded.

Sylaron reached the crime scene, heart pounding, legs burning. He pulled the hand cannon from his hip, aimed at the marine’s head, and fired one shot, two, three. He kept firing when the marine dropped and didn’t stop until his weapon overheated. He dropped the hand cannon when its handle seared his palm and stumbled backward away from the corpse. The marine’s tinted visored face was nothing but a smoking crater, cauterized from the high-temperature rounds fired into his skull.

“Captain,” Braxx mumbled, “What have you done.”

Sylaron gave him a hard look, “What you couldn’t, Sergeant.”

With a violent shove of his foot, he rolled the marine’s corpse over. A pulsating black growth was attached to the base of the neck.

***

“We can’t let that thing parade his body like some nightmarish puppet! For Tril’s sake, it killed them all!”

Sergeant Braxx was pacing back and forth before Sylaron, Dridik, and Admiral Vais. His spines stood on end, and his eyes were crazed. Flecks of spittle flew from his curled lips as he cursed. Admiral Vlais seemed completely taken aback by Sergeant Braxx's lack of self-control, but Sylaron knew better than anyone. The parasite affected your mind and filled your thoughts with unfathomable dread.

“Where is the Marine now?” Dridik said, still recovering from the drink sloshing in his gut.

“He has a name,” Braxx snapped, “Kethiso Slavos.”

Dridik raised his hands defensively, “I meant no disrespect, Sergeant.”

Vlais stepped in between the two before Braxx could embarrass himself further. Even in his inebriated haze, Dridik had enough sense to understand the gravity of the situation. He would never overstep in front of a superior officer unless that superior officer’s name was Sylaron Artharos.

“Slavos is currently in the lab and fully restrained. We’re going to try our best to remove the parasite.” Vlais said, “But we can’t risk killing it, so there’s a chance we may need to conduct our tests with it still attached.”

Braxx looked stunned, “I’m sorry, Admiral, I thought I just heard you say we can’t risk killing it.”

Vlais looked sympathetic, but there was a twinge of impatience on her face. “That’s exactly what I said, Sergeant. Don’t forget that you serve the Hokku Soveringty, which means you serve me. We can’t afford to lose our only test subject.”

Sergeant braxx was almost shaking, “I serve the Marines in my unit, Admiral. You’re going to let that thing eat him.”

Admiral Vlais took a deep breath, “You’re excused, Sergeant.”

For a moment, Braxx looked like he was going to disobey. Sylaron silently willed him to walk away, desperately praying to Trill that he would obey the Admiral’s command. The look on Vlais’ face told him she didn’t believe Braxx would.

“Yes, Admiral.” The words were choked through grit teeth.

His spines threatened to stand on end, but thank Tril, they remained flat. With an immense effort, Braxx tore himself from where he stood. He walked away, his gait strange, as though his boots were filled with stones.

Admiral Vlais pinched the skin between her eyes and sighed heavily. For a moment, Sylaron and Dridik stood in awkward silence.

“Is the VoidDancer ready to leave, Captain?” Vlais asked quietly.

“Uh, yes, Admiral, yes it is.”

“Good, I’ll inform the King of your departure.” She stares at the blood stains on the floor, where the bodies of the slain Hokkonians had been. “I won’t risk fragmenting the fleet.”

Her voice was quiet, and Sylaron barely caught it.

“Admiral?”

She glances up from the floor, “Nothing, captain, good luck.”

Those were her parting words, and she left through the door she came from. Sylaron turned to Dridik, who was already staring at him with a grim expression.

“I think you might be right, Syl. We might be screwed.”

Sylaron only nodded, knowing they were both thinking the same thing. Hokku wasn’t safe.